Theme of Illusion of Free Will Research Assignemnt Paper

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Theme of Illusion of Free Will
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a novel about war and the aftermath of war. The protagonist Billy Pilgrim strives to narrate the life through the war and rebuilding of self after the conflict. He travels to the alien planet Tralfamadore and experiences the worst reality in life. Kurt Vonnegut uses tone, motif, and symbolism to show the readers the real illusion of freedom in the novel, especially at the human life experience and among the Tralfamadorians. The essay presents the theme of the illusion of free will through the use of tone and motif.
Billy becomes a soldier against his will. The narrator uses an ironic and personal tone to reveal the touches of dark humor and absurdity to enhance the emotional power at such moments and how protagonist counter forces against his free will. For instance, the training that Billy goes through, the wearing of the uniform and being a good soldier reveal the reality and struggles that Billy goes through in the human world and has no free will to perform an activity.
Secondly, the author intimately portrayed Billy with ambivalent with emphasis on the narrator’s point of view and reported speech to separate reality and how Billy interprets the events pertaining the illusion of free will. For example, when Billy was a child his father trains him to swim in a pool and leaves him to sink at the deep end. However, Billy prefers the deep end, but the father takes him out against his free will. Therefore, Billy realizes that he has no power to train as a swimmer at his will. Besides, Billy becomes a soldier in a war against his free will. As a soldier, he does not concentrate on his duties, he is a joker, lacks training, proper clothing and supplies. He resembles a puppet in Luxembourg with civilian shoes flapping on the feet and walks in th...